In the course of mooring a boat, it is often necessary to pass a rope or other line around an object such as a pier or buoy eyelet that is out of reach. In these instances, it would be very useful to have a device which could be used to pass a rope around the object and retrieve it. Such a device would be useful in many other situations as well, for instance, for passing a rope around an overhead object such as a rafter or a tree limb or for retrieving a floating object that is out of reach.
Many devices have been devised for holding a rope in an open loop and dropping it over the top of a pier or other object to make fast to it. Examples of this type of device are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,878,808 to Mock, 4,557,214 to Molitor, 4,667,617 to Molitor and Mendham and 5,003,907 to Roach. These types of devices are limited in their usefulness because oftentimes it is necessary to make fast to an object that is fastened at both ends, such as a railing or a column, or which is too large to pass a loop over, such as a tree. These devices also have the drawback that once the loop is around the object it cannot be easily cast off without approaching the object and untying it. This is especially inconvenient when the object the line is tied to is out of reach.
Rather than looping an object, it is often preferable to pass a rope around one side of the object and back on the other side. This way, one can cast off by simply releasing one end of the rope and letting it slide around the object. A number of attempts have been made to make a device for passing a rope or line around an object. U.S. Pat. No. 2,700,252 for a Pole Threader, granted to J. A. Paganelli on Jan. 25, 1955, describes a device that has a U-shaped member on the end of a pole. One side of the U has a rope guide that holds the end of a rope. The other side of the U has a pair of resilient fingers that pivot across the mouth of the U. The device is used by pushing it against a pole to pivot the fingers inward, allowing the pole to enter the U. Once the pole is inside the U, the fingers pivot back to grip the end of the rope. The device is then withdrawn to pass the rope around the pole and back on the other side. Because the fingers swing inward, the U-shaped member must be at least twice as deep as the diameter of the largest pole that the device is anticipated to be used with. This is a drawback when designing a device to pass a rope around large posts such as pier pilings.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,122 for a Device for Passing a Line Around an Object, granted to A. C. Wemyss on May 28, 1974, discloses a device with a two-armed fork on the end of a pole. A rope is attached to a shuttle that can pivotally engage either arm of the fork. The device is used by pushing it against an object to pivot the shuttle inward. Once the object is past the shuttle, the device is withdrawn which causes the shuttle to pivot outward on the opposite arm, thereby passing the rope around the object. Because the shuttle pivots inward, this device has the same drawback as the pole threader previously described. Namely, the two-armed fork must be made considerably larger than the object that the rope is to be passed around. In fact, as it is described in the patent, this device would only be useful for passing a rope around a very small diameter object such as a mooring ring.
Both of these devices have another serious drawback. In order to work, the devices must be pushed against an object. This works fine for fixed stationary objects, but it would not be effective for passing a rope around a freely moving object such as slack rope or chain or a floating object. When the device was pushed against the object, it would simply move away, which would be very counterproductive. In these instances, it would be preferable to have a device that has a means of activation other than pushing it against the object to be tied.